[Member Interview] Yuto Nakamura (trumpet)

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: I don't dislike anything so I'll eat anything, but if I had to choose, I guess it would be sweets. I also like strong-flavored foods.

Q: How long have you been doing music?

A: I started playing the piano in the second grade of elementary school. I saw a girl playing the piano during recess and thought it was cool. I wasn't very enthusiastic about practicing, so I often caused trouble for my teacher. In junior high school, I started playing the trumpet in the brass band. Now I go to church, and I also play the pipe organ there.

Q: Is there anything good about doing music?

A: I guess it was meeting people. I've been able to meet good people. When I was in elementary school, I wasn't a very serious person, but the people around me were nice, so I gradually started to like music.

Q: What is it like joining the Tohoku Youth Orchestra (TYO)?

A: At first, I didn't think I'd get so into it (laughs). Now I'm doing more and more of what I want to do. I think TYO has a lot of potential. We can hold concerts in disaster-stricken areas, we can practice all over the country, and we can meet a lot of different people.

Q: Has anything changed before and after 3/11?

I want to treasure the people I meet here and now, and treasure this time. The day after my junior high school graduation ceremony was March 11th, and in my graduation album, my teacher wrote, "Make an effort to live." I think it means to live life to the fullest, but because of the earthquake, I want to try to do more and more things. I want to try to do everything I want to do.

Q: Please tell us your enthusiasm for this project.

A: We have a message to convey, and of course we want to convey that message, but we also want TYO to be something that local kids who are making music look up to. We need to become an orchestra that is trusted by the local community.